1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for producing electrically processed foodstuffs, and more particularly it is concerned with a novel and useful method of and an apparatus for producing electrically processed foodstuffs which are suitably firm, succulent and homogeneous on a mass production basis with a high degree of efficiency, wherein a material for producing a processed foodstuff by passing an electric current is placed in a container formed of an insulating material and held under pressure between an upper electrode member and a lower electrode member serving concurrently as a receiver for juices given off by materials for producing foodstuffs and an electric current is passed to the material merely by inserting a plug provided with a probe into a socket or by moving the container with the material to be processed rearwardly of a worktable on which it is disposed while inserting a plug with a probe into a socket, to heat the material to a predetermined temperature to sterilize it. The apparatus for producing electrically processed foodstuffs according to the invention is free from the disadvantages that the juices given off by the materials might be spilled on to the surface of the worktable and render same unsanitary and that accidents might be caused to occur by a short circuit during operation, so that the operation of producing processed foodstuffs by passing an electric current can be performed in a sanitary condition without the risk of accidents being caused by a short circuit during operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In one type of method of and apparatus for producing processed foodstuffs known in the art, raw materials for producing processed foodstuffs, such as agricultural produces, dairy products, marine products or some other suitable materials, are quickly made tasty while being sterilized at the same time by Joule heat generated by resistance to a current passed to the materials to be processed. A method of and an apparatus of this type wherein a raw material is placed in a container formed of an insulating material which is open on both sides and then an electric current is passed to the raw material through salt water containing contact members while holding the raw material between a pair of electrode members and applying pressure thereto are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 45570/74, for example, granted to us. The method and apparatus described in this document have been worked and achieved a considerable success.
In the method and apparatus described hereinabove, it is necessary to move the pair of electrode members in reciprocatory movement to process the raw material placed in the container by passing a current thereto. More specifically, the pair of electrode members should be moved each time a current is passed to the raw material, and this has given rise to the problem that in addition to the apparatus itself becoming complex in construction, the operation of such apparatus is rendered troublesome and time-consuming, making it impossible to efficiently perform the operation of producing processed foodstuffs by passing an electric current. The raw material for producing a processed foodstuff which is placed in the container usually contains a large volume of juices to facilitate seasoning by passing a current thereto. The juices are given off by the raw material while a current is being passed to the raw material which is held between the pair of electrode members, and they seep through the container to outside and adhere to various parts of the apparatus. This has made it necessary to clean the apparatus by wiping the juices each time an electric current is passed to the raw material to be processed. As a result, operation efficiency has shown a marked reduction in performing processing of raw materials by this apparatus. However, the juices adhering to various parts of the apparatus have tended to cause a short circuit to occur, thereby inadvertently injuring the operator. An additional disadvantage is that inability to hold the raw materials to be processed between a pair of electrode members in exactly the same condition has made it impossible to continuously produce on a mass production basis such processed foodstuffs are heated to a predetermined sterilizing temperature suiting the particular raw materials.